Fly-holder for shoes.



A. HYLTONE.

P LY HOLDER FOB SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2, 1910.

Patented sept. 5,1911.

Y'ITE ENT OFFIFL.

ALEXANDER I-IYLTONE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOR TO STEWART Sc 'HAY BUILDING CO., OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

FLY-HOLDER FOR SHOES.

T o all whom L may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER HYL'roNn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fly-Holders for Shoes, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to an improved device for use in closing the flies during the lasting operation, and consists in the novel construction hereinafter described and pointed out in the claim.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved instrument for use in such work, whereby much time and trouble will be saved by the workmen, and at the same time the quality ofthe work will be vastly improved.

Referring to the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of my improved fly-holder or closer, in the form adapted for use with button shoes. Fig. 2 is a front view of a shoe-upper having parts broken away, and showing the manner of use of the device shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a sectional sideelevation of the upper, having the device applied thereto. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig, 5 is a detail view, in perspective, illustrating the preferred construction of the ends of the device shown in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a sectional detail for the same purpose as the last mentioned. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of my invention, adapted for use with lace shoes. Fig. 8 is a detail view of a portion of a shoe-upper having the lace-shoe device applied thereto, as in the lasting operation.

My invention consists principally in a flat yielding or resilient body l, made preferably of sheet-steel properly tempered to retain its elasticity, and opposite reinforcing and clamping end-pieces 2 which are located on the ends of said body and each provided with a pair of prongs or needles 3 which eX- tend beyond t-he said body. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, these prongs or needles 3 project longitudinally a distance beyond the end of the spring-body 1, and their free ends are sharpened for the purpose of enabling them to readily pass into and through the lining 4 when the instrument is to be used. The prongs or nee- Speecaton of Letters Patent.

Application led May 2, 1910.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

Serial No. 558,860.

dles 3 may form an integral part of the said body l, or they may be formed integral with the end-pieces 2, as shown, and said end-pieces attached to the ends of said body either by solder or in any other known manner. I preferably attach the end-pieces 2 to the body by punching a hole 5 in said body near its end, placing said end-piece' beneath the perforated end, bending a lug 6 down upon said perforated end over said perforation (or it may be only a recess) 5, and finally punching or upsetting the metal of said lug 6 into said aperture or recess, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

In making the modified construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the same process is used, with the exception (or rather the addition) that the end-pieces 2 are provided with laterally-extending arms instead of with needles, and these arms have prongs or hooks 8 at their free ends which pass into the eyelets of the lace-upper and its lining, to hold the fly in proper position for lasting during the operation of lasting.

The manner of using my invention is as follows, although the same may be varied to suit the convenience and skill of the workman: The flies are closed (as shown in Fig. 2) before the last is used, the holder or closer being grasped in the operators fingers and the needles or prongs at one end of the resilient body l are inserted in the lining 4 closely-adjacent the meeting edges of the flies; then the body intermediate of the end-pieces 2 is curved or temporarily sprung with the fingers so as to shorten the distance between said end-pieces, and then the needles or prongs at the opposite end of said body are inserted into said lining, one prong of said last-mentioned end-piece within the lining of one fly and the other prong in the lining of the opposite fly; and finally the body is released and its resiliency will cause it to tend to straighten out to its normally-straight condition, and the linings located between the end-pieces of the device will be stretched and held snugly in position, as will also the flies to which they are attached.

By means of my improved device the fiies are securely held in a closed position during the lasting-operation, thereby preventing the possible distortion of the flies and linings during the operation of lasting and producing work of much better fit and appearance than could be produced heretofore vwithout the use of my invention.

In removing the device from a lasted shoe, the operator inserts the end of a screwdriver or other similar tool between the adjacent edges of the iiies, and pushes the body l inwardly a suiiicient distance to shorten its length temporarily, thereby detaching said prongs; this of course, after the last has been removed from the upper.

In using the lace-shoe modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the body l is located upon the exterior of the upper, as shown in Fig. 8, the prongs or hooks S, at one end 0f said body, are inserted in opposite eyelets of the upper, then the body is iexed as before de scribed, and finally the pair of prongs or yhooks 8 at the opposite end of said body are inserted within opposite eyelets, and the body released, thereby stretching and se- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents,

curely holding in position the edges of the adjacent flies and their linings, as shown in said Fig. 8.

Vhat I claim is as follows:

The improved fly-holder for shoes, com prising a flat yielding steel body having a hole therein near each of its ends, reinforcing end-pieces secured on said body at the point where said holes are located, a portion of said end-pieces being located in said holes; and suitable prongs projecting from said end-pieces.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speciiication, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALEXANDER HYLTONE.

Iitnesses E. L. VALLACE, JOHN C. HIGDON.

Washington, D. C. 

